FAFEN Parliament Monitor

1of 14th00 National DA AssemblyYS

1.0 Executive Summary The 14th National Assembly took oath on June 1, 2013 after a landmark smooth and democratically managed transfer of power. Despite allegations of rigging and irregularities in the May 11 elections, the transition of power remained august as the newly-elected members took oath indicating at the increasing maturity that political organization had achieved, strengthening democracy. The oath-taking of members was followed by the election of the Speaker in a triangular contest that clearly established the majority of the Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) in the National Assembly. Following the Speaker's election, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister – Leader of the House – with 244 votes. This was the second time in the political history of Pakistan that the PMLN secured a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. Earlier in 1997, the PMLN had formed the government with a two-thirds majority. However, they were undemocratically booted out in a military coup on October 12, 1999. The following table details the election results since 1970: Party Name 1970 1977 1988 1990 1993 1997 2002 2008 2013 PPPP 70 155 94 - 86 18 80 125 45 PMLN - - - - 73 135 18 92 190 Independent 12 8 40 22 15 21 1 20 8 1 IJI - - 54 106 - - - - - PMLQ/PML ------118 50 2

MMAP/JUIF ------59 8 12 Y L

MQM ------17 25 24 B

PDA - - - 44 - - - - - M E

PNA - 36 ------S

PTI ------1 - 35 S A MQMH (Haq Parast) - - - 15 - 12 - - - L

National Alliance ------16 - - A PMLF ------5 5 5 N O JI ------4 I T

PkMAP ------1 - 4 A N NPP ------1 2 H

ANP ------13 2 T AJIP ------1 4 1

AMLP ------1 F

APML ------1 O BNP ------1 - 1 S Y

NP ------1 A D PPPS/QWPS ------2 1 1 0

PMLZ ------1 - 1 0 1 Obtaining a clear majority in the general elections is a unique feat that only PMLN has enjoyed in the country's political history. The majority gives the party immense control over legislative and policy-making processes without having to rely on the multiple and at times conflicting demands of coalition partners. Although the PMLN approached at least nine political parties to join the government, the negotiations were conducted from a position of strength, as their support was not critical in the number game. It was against this backdrop that the inaugural speech by PM Sharif on June 5, 2013 attained added significance, as it was an address that commanded support of a majority in the House. His words were a precursor to the shape of things to come and, therefore, deemed a roadmap for his government to follow during its five-year tenure. Although Mr. Sharif's speech was candid and comprehensive, it was inadequate as far as mentioning remedies to important issues such as terrorism and insurgency in Balochistan were concerned. The Prime Minister, in his inaugural address, identified at least eight themes that his government will focus on during its tenure. The focus of his speech remained on eight key areas – economic development; democracy and political development; foreign relations, particularly an even better relationship with China; good governance; strengthening the federation; peace building and conflict resolution; energy sector reforms and protection of human rights. The following table is a qualitative analysis of the Premier's speech. The table also shows the number of times the Prime Minister mentioned the issues with an action plan to resolve them. Sr.No. Issue Mention Action Plan 1 Economic Development 8 0 2 Democracy and Political Development 6 2 3 Foreign Relations 2 1 4 Good Governance 2 3 5 Strengthening Federation 5 2 6 Peace Building and Conflict Resolution 6 0 7 Energy Sector Reforms 1 1 2 8 Protection of Human Rights 1 0 Total 31 9

However the tradition of bypassing the elected houses in Economic development initiatives include major decisions continued as the government took critical measures to boost the economy, build decisions such as an operation in Karachi and negotiations infrastructure and reduce poverty, inflation and with the Taliban etc. without bringing them to the floor of the unemployment etc. National Assembly or Senate. Democracy and political development Thus far, the Treasury has not put forth substantive agendas includes the government's resolve to uphold the to make parliamentary headway on the priorities set forth by constitution, resist undemocratic forces and the Prime Minister. On the contrary, it appeared that the support the decisions taken by the provincial governments. Opposition Benches were more interested in what PM Sharif had laid out in his address. Almost half of the agenda Foreign relations deal with improving relations relevant to the Prime Minister's articulated priorities came with other countries, especially the neighbors, from the Opposition. building relations on an equal basis and protecting the country's interest at international The PM and his cabinet's low attendance during the first 100 forums. parliamentary days established their indifference to the Good governance initiatives focus on elected House. Ministers remained absent during Question eradication of corruption and increasing Hour, leaving many of the questions unaddressed. transparency in government and semi- Keeping elected representatives away from crucial government departments. decisions was not limited to domestic front alone. On foreign S t r e n g t h e n i n g f e d e r a t i o n i n c l u d e s relations, crucial announcements such as the declaration of establishing harmony among provincial Pakistan having no favorites in Afghanistan were never governments, building positive links with all discussed in the parliament. political stakeholders, taking decision while The Opposition's participation in appointment of key keeping in view the interests of all federating persons heading parliamentary bodies and state institutions units, and cooperation with political parties to in post-18th Constitutional Amendment scenario turned out resolve national issues. to be a roadblock for the government, as it could not forge an Peace building and conflict resolution agreement on the appointment of chairpersons for standing initiatives focus on improving law and order, committees, Chief Election Commissioner and the National combatting terrorism and extremism, and Accountability Bureau Chairperson. restoring peace in conflict-hit areas. Energy sector reforms FAFEN has analyzed the first 100 days of the National include measures to Assembly, the government's actions and interventions to end power crisis and build up on alternative follow up on the priorities identified by the Prime Minister in energy resources. his inaugural address. The primary focus of this report is on Protection of human rights deals with the the parliamentary interventions made by members in the constitutional rights of citizens especially Lower House that directly co-relate to the themes identified women, minorities and marginalized groups. in the Premier's speech. The analysis is based on direct observation of the 14th National Assembly being conducted as part of FAFEN's Parliament Watch and Reforms Project (PWRP), which aims at enhancing parliamentary transparency and responsiveness. The contextual information is drawn from secondary sources such as newspapers and independent research organizations. Although not exhaustive, FAFEN has taken due care detailing and categorizing the issues identified by the Prime Minister in his inaugural speech in order to assess the performance of the government. 2.0 Analysis of Prime Minister's Speech with Parliamentary Proceedings 2.1 Economic Development Despite Prime Minister's commitment towards economic development, the Treasury did not present any business on economic wellbeing and development in the National Assembly’s first 100 days. Thus far, the assembly has only passed the Finance Bill 2013 after a two-week debate in the House. A cursory glance at the contents of the bill – passed on June 27, 2013 – reveals that it did not reflect PMLN's policies in entirety. The Finance Bill, with an outlay of Rs3.985 trillion, had been generally described as a business-friendly budget with little relief to masses. The government was criticized for its lack of serious efforts in broadening the tax base, failure in taxing the agricultural income and further burdening existing taxpayers. A 1% increase in General Sales Tax (GST), allocation of Rs1.1 trillion for the Public Sector Development Program, target of 3 maintaining single digit inflation, continuation of Benazir Income Support Program, allotment of Rs225 billion for the energy sector and the payment of the circular debt of Rs500 billion were the salient features of the budget passed by the new government. Y

Some of the provisions of the finance bill such as seeking a reduction in Prime Minister House's expenditure by L

44%, VIPs required to pay duties and taxes for importing vehicles, abolition of all organizations' and B autonomous bodies' secret funds, reduction in the number of ministries from 40 to 28, and a markup-free loan M scheme (50% of whose beneficiaries will be women) were generally appreciated. The collection of GST before E S

the passage of Finance Bill stirred a judicial action as well as political and media uproar and the government S had to provide a legislative cover to the collection. A In comparison, the Opposition seemed more interested in putting forth agenda about economic development L A

than the Treasury. The Opposition submitted three resolutions seeking steps for economic development. N

However, none of them was taken up by the House. A Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) legislator presented a resolution O I

urging the government to complete work on Lowari Tunnel. The government allocated Rs1 billion for the tunnel T in the PSDP. The Assembly subsequently adopted a resolution asking for the amount to A be increased to Rs4 billion, which the federal government ignored. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government then N allocated Rs3 billion from its share of the PSDP to the project. Similarly, a PPPP member urged the government H to build new reservoirs to control water shortage, while an MQM MNA submitted a resolution calling for the T 4 resumption of all discontinued trains. 1

Additionally, two motions were moved under Rule 259 about the performance of the Federal Board of Revenue F (FBR), focusing on its failure to achieve tax collection targets in the last five years and the precarious situation O arising out of unemployment in the country. They were also not taken up. These motions were sponsored by S Y

PMLN and JI legislators. A

2.2 Democracy and Political Development D 0

In his inaugural speech, the Prime Minister appreciated the masses for participating in the democratic 0 process, categorically stating that the survival of Pakistan is linked to democracy and also sought the 1 Opposition's support and cooperation in deterring any unconstitutional move in future. He also mentioned giving an opportunity to the true leadership of Balochistan to rule the province. During the first 100 days of the parliament, the Treasury did not present any legislation or motion that supported the democratic process or pledged to deter any unconstitutional or extra-constitutional move. For instance, in the context of high treason cases1, the government did not seek to move legislation to clarify clause 2 of Article 62 of the Constitution.

1 On June 24, 2013, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told the National Assembly that the government would file a case of high treason against former military ruler under article 6 of the constitution for imposing a state of emergency in the country in 2007 while also suspending the Constitution. 2 High treason (1) Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason. (2) Any person aiding or abetting [or collaborating] the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason. (2A) An act of high treason mentioned in clause (1) or clause (2) shall not be validated by any court including the Supreme Court and a High Court. (3) [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] shall by law provide for the punishment of persons found guilty of high treason. http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1333523681_951.pdf The controversy over the timing of the presidential elections, also served to mar the historic first completion of a term by an elected president. The judiciary was dragged into the matter and what should have been a non- issue set off tension between the opposition parties, ECP and the Supreme Court. The PPPP, ANP, BNPA, PMLQ and AML all ended up boycotting the polls on July 30, which saw Mamnoon Hussain being elected as the 12th President of Pakistan. The 14th National Assembly missed the deadline set by the Rules of Procedure to form Standing Committees by a little more than a month and a half and the 34 Standing Committees of the National Assembly were approved in the fourth session on August 21. The committees, however, have failed to start functioning as their chairpersons have not yet been elected. The NA's Rules of Procedure (Rule 200) give the National Assembly 30 days after the Prime Minister's election to form the Standing Committees. The government's decision to discuss the policy on terrorism in an All Parties Conference instead of the National Assembly also does not help the Prime Minister's stated goal of the supremacy of Parliament. His decision to choose the National Assembly as a forum for announcing the government's intention to try former military ruler Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution, however, was commendable. The 14th National Assembly seemed less interested in using resolutions to voice its concerns or support. Moreover, a JI member tabled a resolution in the assembly asking the government to implement the resolutions adopted by the 13th National Assembly, but it was not taken up by the House. 4 Similarly, three private members' bills related to political development and strengthening democracy in Pakistan – the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2013, the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Bill 2013 and the Political Parties Order (Amendment) Bill 2013 – were also not taken up. 2.3 Foreign Relations The Prime Minister vowed to improve relations with all countries, especially China, in order to boost economic cooperation and bilateral trade. Though the assembly's responsiveness to populist agenda was prompt, it was not proactive in setting up agenda items in line with the goal identified by PM Sharif. Soon after the assembly was sworn in, Line of Control (LoC) skirmishes led to tensions between Pakistan and India. An attack on the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi in the first week of August aggravated the situation. The House responded by unanimously adopting a resolution condemning the skirmishes on the LoC and the attack on Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi. The resolution also slammed the vilification of Pakistan in the Indian media and called upon New Delhi to uphold the Ceasefire Agreement signed in 2003. The National Assembly was prompt in its response to the attacks on historic mausoleums in Syria, condemning them as “an affront to the sentiment of the entire Muslim Ummah”. The House also expressed dismay and concern over the use of force by Egyptian security forces against protesters opposing the removal of a democratically-elected government and the killings of hundreds of people. The issue of Kashmir remained on the backburner and low on the assembly's priorities. A motion under Rule 259 calling the House to discuss the government's Kashmir policy was not taken up. This motion was sponsored by the JI. 2.4 Good Governance The response by the parliament and cabinet was swift and categorical on issues concerning foreign relations. However, the government seemed less interested in addressing issues of public interest such as weak governance, institutional corruption, unemployment and increasing poverty. Despite the Prime Minister's promises to improve governance, the government's interest seemed lacking, with the Treasury introducing just one bill on governance – the Service Tribunals (Amendment) Bill 2013 – in the assembly. The Opposition was more active in sponsoring agenda on good governance. The JI and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) legislators came up with two separate resolutions calling upon the federal government to take immediate steps to control inflation. The MQM also moved another resolution urging the government to take steps to provide inexpensive and expeditious justice to the people. None of these resolutions were taken up. The MQM-sponsored the National Database and Registration Authority (Amendment) Bill 2013, seeking use of original CNIC was left pending. Four motions on governance issues were moved under Rule 259 in the first 100 days of the National Assembly. However, only one motion sponsored by a PMLN member about the extravagant spending of Pakistani foreign missions was taken up in the House and debated. The remaining three motions – first by an MQM legislator seeking discussion on non-existence of unified civil structure and disparity in the federal government employees, second by a PMLN member calling for discussion on National Telecommunications Corporation's (NTC) performance and third by another MQM MNA on Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) performance – were not taken up. 2.5 Strengthening Federation To demonstrate the ruling party's commitment to strengthening the federation, PM Sharif in his inaugural speech pointed at promoting a new political culture, one where parties with a rightful mandate will not be denied the chance to form a government. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the smaller local parties in Balochistan were allowed to form governments in the two provinces. In his speech, the Prime Minister held the dictatorial rules responsible for harming the federating units. He said that the Constitution will be upheld at all costs as it will ensure sustainable democracy and strengthened federation. The Prime Minister assured the provincial governments of full cooperation and invited all political parties to sit together to devise a common agenda. That said, the Treasury did not come up with any concrete parliamentary intervention aimed at forging more harmony among federating units. 2.6 Peace Building and Conflict Resolution 5 The ongoing issues of terrorism and extremism across the country, which has resulted in heavy loss of life, and damage to property and business, remained the highlight of the Prime Minister's inaugural speech. However, he did not lay a concrete plan to tackle these issues. Y L

The Prime Minister in his address held dictatorial regimes responsible for fanning extremism and terrorism. He B added that only democratic governments can protect the country's sovereignty and ensure peace. M E

The Prime Minister also spoke about peace in Karachi, FATA and Balochistan. He promised the federal S government's support to the Sindh government to restore peace in Karachi. Moreover, he also said that it is S important to achieve peace in FATA and Balochistan to improve security in the country. A L

The House responded to the terrorist attacks in Balochistan – the burning down of the Quaid-e-Azam's A

Residency in Ziarat, bomb blast in a bus carrying students of the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University and N O

the bombing of the Bolan Medical Complex in Quetta – in June by unanimously passing a resolution. Another I resolution was adopted to condemn the attack on foreign tourists near the Nanga Parbat basecamp in Gilgit- T Baltistan. A N

After seeking the involvement of all legitimate stakeholders, the government moved to restore peace in Karachi H by launching a targeted operation in violence-hit areas. Taking the provincial government and other major T political parties into confidence, the federal government gave a go-ahead to the security forces to crack down 4 1 on criminal elements involved in target killings, extortions and destabilization of peace in the city. However, this F

issue was not brought to the floor of the House for debate. O

Pakistan's role in the war on terror, and its implications on national sovereignty in terms of respecting S international borders began anew after the killing of in a covert American operation close to Y A

the Pakistan Military Academy in . A PTI legislator presented a resolution asking the government to D

present the Abbottabad Commission report in the parliament but it was not taken up. 0 0

Another motion sponsored by the JI about law and order was left unaddressed. 1 2.7 Energy Sector Reforms The ongoing energy crisis with its usual symptoms of shortages and rising prices of fuel and electricity has led to public agitations across the country. The Prime Minister in his address to the National Assembly ensured that his government has prepared a comprehensive plan, and will solve this issue. The issue was addressed in the National Power Policy 2013 that was put to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) by the government on July 23. The CCI approved the National Power Policy (NPP) 2013 with the consensus of all provinces on July 31. The policy was not discussed in the National Assembly, which while not against the rules is against the norms of the assembly: an important policy document such as the NPP 2013 merited debate in the House. During the first 100 days of the National Assembly, two resolutions about the energy sector were moved. However, both resolutions were left unaddressed. The first resolution was sponsored by the JI urging the government to take steps to control power outages, while the other was put forth by MQM and called upon the government to move for finding alternative energy sources to address the power crisis. Three motions on the power crisis – one by JI and two by PMLN – were tabled under Rule 259 but none was taken up for debate. In the first motion, the JI urged the government to table and discuss the energy policy in the parliament. In the other two motions, PMLN members called for discussing the problems due to power outages in the country. 2.8 Protection of Human Rights The Prime Minister committed to guaranteeing the protection of minorities rights in his speech. However, neither the Treasury nor the Opposition brought up in the assembly the worsening state of human rights, especially in Balochistan. Though the House condemned the killing of hundreds of people in terrorist attacks several times during the first 100 days, different quarters of the federal government were supportive of holding peace talks with the Taliban stirring a debate in society and inviting large scale criticism from human rights activists. 3.0 Key Priorities While the citizens might have been expecting a little more on the count of government's counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency policies, the government dwelled cautiously, perhaps due to the paucity of comprehension 6 and institutional agreements of complex issues that have rendered Pakistan one of the most dangerous places in the world. On the contrary, the Opposition Benches seemed more interested in putting forth pro-people agenda, which were mentioned by PM Sharif in his address. The following table lists the parliamentary interventions on issues identified by the Prime Minister in his inaugural speech. Motions Under Resolutions Legislation Rule 259

Issue Total Jointly reasury reasury Private T T Opposition Opposition Government Economic Development 2 1 3 1 - 1 - 8 Energy Sector Reforms 1 2 2 - - - - 5 Foreign Relations 1 - 1 2 - - 4 Good Governance 2 3 5 2 - 1 1 14 Peace Building and Conflict Resolution 1 - 1 - 3 - - 5 Democracy and Political Development - - 1 - - 1 3 5 Total 7 6 12 4 5 3 4 41

3.1 Points of Order There were 546 Points of Order (POs) raised in the four sessions of the assembly since June 1. An analysis of these Points of Order shows that 318 were related to issues directly identified by the Prime Minister in his speech. The Opposition members spoke 223 times on the performance of the government. Most of the Points of Order (84) were related to Peace Building and Conflict Resolution, followed by Good Governance (62), Economic Development and Foreign Relations (23 each), Democracy and Political Development (14), Energy Sector Reforms (nine) and Protection of Human Rights and Strengthening Federation (four each). The Treasury members raised 95 Points of Order, of which 36 were on Good Governance, followed by 22 on Peace Building and Conflict Resolution, Economic Development (12), Democracy and Political Development (nine), Foreign Relations (seven), Protection of Human Rights (five), and Energy Sector Reforms and Strengthening Federation (two each). Issue Opposition Treasury Total Democracy and Political Development 14 9 23 Economic Development 23 12 35 Energy Sector Reforms 9 2 11 Foreign Relations 23 7 30 Good Governance 62 36 98 Peace Building and Conflict Resolution 84 22 106 Protection of Human Rights 4 5 9 Strengthening Federation 4 2 6 Total 223 95 318 3.2 Assurances by the Government The most number of assurances given by the Treasury were on Peace Building and Conflict Resolution (13). This was followed by Good Governance (nine), Democracy and Political Development (six), Economic Development (five), Foreign Relations (three) and Energy Sector Reforms and Protection of Human Rights (one each). The assurances were counted on the basis of ministerial responses to questions asked during Question Hours, Calling Attention Notices, Points of Order and other agenda items. 7 Issue Number Democracy and Political Development 6 Y

Economic Development 5 L B Energy Sector Reforms 1 M

Foreign Relations 3 E S

Good Governance 9 S Peace Building and Conflict Resolution 13 A L

Protection of Human Rights 1 A

Total 38 N O I

4.0 Key Priorities in Media Statements by PM and Ministers T A

In addition to addressing the key issues in the House, the Prime Minister and the federal ministers gave a N number of assurances and presented updates on ongoing activities initiated by the government in various H

media statements. FAFEN has gathered data from Dawn and/or The Express Tribune to assess media T statements given by either the PM or his cabinet. 4 1

Most of these statements (34) were about foreign relations, followed by Economic Development (31), Peace F

Building and Conflict Resolution (24), Governance (23), Energy Sector and Reforms (20) while the issue of O

Democracy and Political Development was addressed in four statements. S Issue Number Y A

Democracy and Political Development 4 D 0

Economic Development 31 0 1 Energy Sector Reforms 20 Foreign Relations 34 Good Governance 23 Peace Building and Conflict Resolution 24 Total 136

Disclaimer: This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of FAFEN and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. This Report is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI); a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions excepted. Please contact House 145, St 37, F-10/1, Islamabad - 051-8466232